The Flight of the Romanovs by Perry and Pleshakov

This book has the family saga of all the Romanovs who lives are often mention in brief in some of the epilogue in the books about Nicholas II.

It has a ton of notes and a huge list of bibliographies.

I can not varify  it's accurate accounts.  Someone else will have to who knows more about the other Romanovs than I.

Curious One

I enjoyed this book, a book which  highlights how the exiled Romanovs survived along with thousands of other Russian refugees.

The Romanovs migrated to major European cities, faring the least best in England. Their familiarity with a world outside of Russia, uncluding their knowledge of a number of languages certainly helped their survival. However many faced hardships by virtue of not knowing the value of money, nor how to fend for themselves. Only two Grand Ducal members tried to gain a job (Maria and Sandro), while other members were hoping to return to Russia on day. A hope which increased with the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union.

My favorite photographs are the ones showing G. D. Olga planting tomatoes in her yard in Canada, and including one of the final images of her before her death. To me these subtle images speak so much! How humble she became, and yet so dignified.

A particularily poignant moment was expressed by the authors on the last page of their text (p 359), where they described that all the attending Romanov family who chose to return to Russia to observe the burial of the Ekaterinburg victims:

... " As the coffin of Nikolai II touched the earth, the entire Romanov family present spontaneously dropped to their knees."

There were indeed a number of final returns ...

There is a more recent publication about the destiny of the Romanov Family which contains numerous photographs of the more recent members.

If you are conversant in Russian, I can highly recommend this book to compliment the Perry and Pleshakov title.

"Romanovy, Bibliografia Dynastiya" Staffan Skott, publ. Zaharov, Moscow 2002.

The author provides a complete listing of all the members of the Romanov Family as at 1917. Most welcome is the author's helpful inclusion in the Epilogue, of all the addresses of the G.D.'s palaces.

Let us know if it ever is translated into English.

Meanwhile,  back to the Flight of the Romanovs.

Published in 1999.

It opens on  1 March 1881....

p. 329: 1945 - only five  GDukes and GDuchesses were alive out of the seventeen...

Ends on p. 359 and I quote:  "....And the powerful voices of the choir again soared in 'Eternal Memory,' as if to bear the souls of the departed to Heaven.  As the coffin of Nicholas II touched the earth, the entire Romanov family present spontaneously dropped to their knees.  Russia may have ended its century of 'blood and violence,' but will it now find 'repetance and peace,' as Boris Yeltsin insists it must?"

Hi!

Has someone read this book? Is it good? Thankies!

I read this book several years ago when my interest in the Romanovs was just beginning.  Now that I know a bit more about the rest of the extended family, I think I would get more out of it, and I may read it again at some point in the future.  
If you can get it cheaply or borrow it from a library, it's worth a look.

Hope this is helpful... :-/

Hi, I thoroughly reccomend it.  I read it when it was first published. I go back to it on occasion for reference. It has excellent notes and bibliography that reflects many "must have" books for the Romanovphile.  IMO, it is definetly worth a read.

Alexei

Hello, I would really appreciate anymore information on this book? Is it just about the escapes of the surviving members.

No, it's a lot more than that. It covers approx 100 years, from the boyhood of the future Alexander III to the death of Olga, the last grand duchess, in 1960. The book is subtitled 'A Family Saga', and that is exactly what it is ~ the story of a dynasty already beginning to falter, and then disintegrating completely. It uses a large number of sources I have not seen elsewhere, including diaries, unpublished memoirs etc. Though necessarily a bit anecdotal and gossipy, I have found it very useful and informative when trying to sort out the roles of the lesser known Grand Dukes and Duchesses, especially of course those who survived the events of 1917/18 and tried to make new lives in the West. Several unusual photos too. My copy is a well-used paperback, published in 1999. ISBN  0-465-02463-7.

Thank you for the information S.V. It sounds very interesting and I like reading the escape stories and what they did after the revolution...

Someone gave this book to me on my sweet 16 about a month ago. I absolutely love it. It tells so much of the story, some won't be new at all but more definitely was new to me. It covers from the death of Alexander II to the death of Olga Alexandrovna, as was said. (By the way, I have the paperback and I also liked how easy it is to carry around.)

I liked this book mainly because it is the best source that I have ever read on what happened to them after the Revolution, and on some Romanovs you don't hear much about otherwise. Their lives after the revolution are very interesting, and are not really covered elsewhere as much as they should be. I read this book quite a few years ago now, but, I agree with the other person who said you might learn more from this if you bring more knowledge about extended Romanovs to it. I think in general, read this after you have some background knowledge.

I agree, the lives of the surviving Romanovs after the revolution is very interesting (and terribly sad). I can't wait to get this book!!

Well worth the read!  As imperial angel put it, if you can bring other Romanov information with you, it really enriches the stories about them after the Revolution.  It also deals much with the Dowager Empress and AIII which I liked a lot because there isn't a lot offerred about AIII in English translations.

I'm reading this at the moment and I'm really enjoying it - although perhaps 'enjoying' isn't the right word because it is very sad.  I have also found that there's not that much information about the Romanovs after the Revolution and this book has an excellent bibliography.  I like the dramatic style and I like all of the anecdotes.  It does seem to me to be fairly 'down' on the Brits - but apparently with good reason.  That came as rather a shock!

I especially liked the part about the Grand Empress Marie and I certainly want to read more about her.

Best Regards,

Lisa
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